IGN preview

[Adrian II]

I haven't looked into the E:TW development threads for quite a while. I didn' t want to be disappointed the way I was by Imperial Glory.

But the gameplay images and screenshots that we are offered now, plus the commentary in interviews with developers, are very promising indeed. If the naval battles are anything like the description in Shacknews I will seriously consider giving up my job and social life and marrying this game. For better or for worse.

I got a look at a lengthy naval battle, the Americans facing down the British. The game features dozens of ships, and all sorts were on display. Small sloops, larger frigates, ships of the line--even rudimentary rocket-armed ships and early steam-powered behemoths.

It is difficult to stress how fantastic the game looks in motion. Cannon fire is a sight to see: billowy smoke thundering from each broadside, masts accurately snapping and crashing onto the rolling waves. Crew effects have been added since last we saw a build, and now an impressive number of sailors can be seen running about the decks, loading cannon and climbing the crow's nest.

During a boarding action, the little men used grappling hooks to pull an enemy ship closer. When the two had joined, they threw down planks and boarded, engaging in hand-to-hand combat and quick musket fire. Combat in Empire is now rendered on a soldier-by-soldier basis, more in the tradition of Shogun's duel-focused combat than Rome's hordes. Men were seen aggressively locking muskets and battling eachother to the death, even fighting up in the crow's nest.

For a naval buff like myself this be da shizzle, man, precisely because it is more than a tactical naval game. You're not just directing a fleet in(to) battle, you are directing fleets as part of a wider strategic situation, deciding when and where to build them, deploy them, and engage (or be engaged by) the enemy with them. Thinking of the possibilities gives me goosebumps.

As for the first steamship venturing out to sea, Wiki has a nice write-up:

The Élise was the first steam ship to cross the English Channel.

She was bought in England 1816 by Pierre Andriel as Margery, and renamed Élise. Andriel intended to accomplish a spectacular crossing of the Channel to convince public opinion that steam ships could be ocean-worthy.

The Élise departed from Newhaven on 17 March, with a heavy sea. At midnight, a tempest broke out, and Andriel had to threaten his own crew at gun point and award three bottles of rum to the first man to spot the French coast. After 17 hours of sea, the Élise reached Le Havre.

She sailed up the Seine and arrived in Paris on 28 March, becoming a popular sensation. Two small saluting guns were mounted at the bow and fired in honour of Louis XVIII.